Unlikely Sacrifice
by Invader Aqua
Summary: The Meekrob's message has been revealed, and Zim has to make a choice. Will he pick power, or love? Time begins to run out as Gaz approaches her due date. The fate of the Universe is in Zim's hands. ZAGR and DATR. Rated for violence and adult content.
1. The Ultimate Question

Unlikely Sacrifice

By Invader Aqua

**Author's Notes**: Welcome welcome to the final installment of the "Unlikely" series. Oh, don't give me that look, like you're all surprised. YOU KNEW DEEP DOWN THAT I WOULD GET AROUND TO FINISHING! STOP MENTALLY CRITICIZING ME!!! (Gathers composure) If you really like this series, thank Invader Johnny and Abby for harassing me enough to make me find some time to continue writing. As for Sharpshooter01, THANK YOU for CARING about me enough to notice that it's not like me to put off posting for so long. Yes, I realize that, but I've been REALLY busy with this being my senior year at high school an' all. Applying to college and all that CRAP! So, I promise to be better about finishing my story. Thankies to all and much luf.

**Disclaimer**: If you haven't realized by now that I don't own Invader Zim, then I've lost all faith in humanity.

"This computer's gonna make me renounce Jesus Christ!"

-My emo friend

Chapter 1: The Ultimate Question

Zim stood above the Resisty's Common room watching Gaz interact with GIR and Mini-Moose.

"What are you going to do?"

Zim scowled at the question, and turned around to face his life long friend. "I don't know!" he snapped and then turned his attention back to the beings below him. Skoodge shuffled his feet uncomfortably from his position leaning against the wall. Zim leaned so far over the railing that there were times that Skoodge feared he would fall.

The chubby Irken stared at his taller friend, worried. "What do you think you're going to do?"

Zim drew a sharp annoyed breath and in that instant, Skoodge knew he was going to get the tongue-lashing of his life, but instead Zim exhaled and went limp on the railing. "I think it's too much to think about," he replied at last.

Skoodge frowned in thought. "But… being Tallest is your _dream_, Zim."

"I don't need _you_ to tell me that, Skoodge."

Skoodge paused, considering his words carefully. "Yeah, and this may be your one chance. Doesn't the message say that you could get anything?"

"Of course. You've heard it more times than I have."

"That's what I mean! You'll be the Tallest and we'll all go back home and live on Irk… like we're supposed to."

Zim heard the pain in Skoodge's voice. Sometimes he felt that the little Irken felt worse about being banished than he did. That's the tie that's held them together for all of these years: The desire to do everything they could to gain honor and an undying love for their home planet. Now, Zim knew that there were things worse than being deactivated by the control brains. On contraire, now he knew that deactivation was a merciful punishment, for it saved the Irken from the pain of living and never being allowed to come home again.

Now, Zim and Skoodge were tied together by their pain, wanting only to return to the safety of their home. Skoodge was willing to pay the price for it, that Zim knew for sure, but he didn't know if he himself could bear to kill the only other being that's ever cared for him. The only one who's ever shown him compassion, the only one to ever know how much he hurt, to understand his pain, and accept him fully.

He didn't know if he could bring himself to sacrifice Gaz.

Or his unborn child.

"Like I said, Skoodge," Zim said, straightening up and moving to go back downstairs. He kept his back to Skoodge, for fear of how much of himself he would see on his best friend's face. "It's a lot to think about."

(Page Break)

"Wha' 'bout Bippy?"

"No."

"Nunu?"

"No."

"Dim?"

"No."

"How 'bout Chocolate?"

"No!"

"Taco?"

"Taco?"

"Squeak!"

"MONKEY!"

Gaz leaned back in her chair and sighed in frustration. GIR and Mini-Moose were equally useless when it came to coming up with names for her child. She couldn't even remember why she asked for GIR's input in the first place.

'_Oh, yeah. 'Cause I thought he might know a few names that Zim would like_,' she remembered and rolled her eyes.

"Wha'cha doin'?" Spleenk asked, coming over to the hard-backed chair where Gaz sat, staring at her half-eaten lunch. GIR sat in front of her plate, giggling about something he remembered from a week ago, and Mini-Moose floated around lazily in the general area.

"Coming up with names," Gaz explained slowly, hoping that she used small enough words for the dull alien.

Spleenk came closer. "Why?"

"Because it's important," Gaz growled, hoping Spleenk would get the message that she wanted him to go away.

He didn't. "Why is it important?"

"Because it is!" Gaz snapped.

Spleenk was silent.

"How 'bout Bwam?" GIR ventured.

Gaz shook her head. "Nope, that's a boy's name."

"Who's name?" Spleenk asked.

Gaz let out a frustrated sigh that quickly turned into a growl. "My baby's name," she seethed.

"Doesn't he have a name?" Spleenk asked, oblivious of his imminent doom.

"No, _she_ doesn't; that's _why we're thinking of one_!"

"Why?"

"So I know what to call _her_ when _she_ won't stop kicking me!"

"Why?"

Gaz snarled and clenched her fists.

"I like the name POOP!" GIR cheered.

"Squeak!" Mini-Moose agreed.

"Xhaltz is a popular name on my planet," Spleenk offered.

"TACO-MONKEY!" GIR shouted, jumping up on Gaz's plate.

"And there's always Schreenklshmek. That's my brothers name."

"MOOSEY FATE! MOOSEY FATE!"

"Then there's Agorannexzhelshj. That was my Dad's name, but we always called him Bubbie for short. Hey! You can name your baby Bubbie!"

"NAKED!" GIR yelled and Mini-Moose did a barrel roll.

"But if you want to be original, you can always go with-"

"QUI-ET!!" Gaz blared at the top of her lungs. The whole ship seemed to have come to a pause. Gaz reached behind her and yanked Spleenk down to her level. With the other hand, she snatched up GIR by his head and rammed the little robot into Spleenk's face. "_Get. Rid. Of. It_," she growled.

"But-"

"NOW! I don't want to hear another _word_ out of that robot. Do I make myself clear?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She released her hold on Spleenk's shirt. The green alien hurried off with GIR in tow.

"How 'bout Monkey-Poop?"

Gaz growled loudly, and Spleenk cupped his hand over GIR's mouth and ran. Gaz leaned back against her chair and savored the silence. Even with her eyes closed, she sensed Zim's presence. "I'm not mad at you," she assured and heard him pull out the seat next to her.

He remained silent for her, knowing she desperately needed it.

She appreciated him for it.

"What have you been up to?" she asked at length.

He shrugged. "Not much."

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, but she could tell that something was amiss. Ever since Skoodge and the annoying androids arrived roughly a month ago, Zim's had something on his mind. She didn't know if it was good or bad, but she really had to reason to be suspicious of Zim since he came clean with her. She trusted him now. Maybe she was even beginning to love him again. She wanted him to love her back, and be a part of their soon-to-be family. She hated to see him upset, so she racked her brain for something to distract him.

"I've been thinking of some names…" she said, hoping he would take the initiative.

Instead, he looked confused. "Names of what?"

"Names _for_ our baby," Gaz corrected.

Zim frowned. "For what purpose?"

Now Gaz was confused. "What?"

"Why would we think of names? Our smeet's PAK will come with a name and code. We have no say in the matter," Zim explained, gesturing to the piece of machinery attached to his spine.

"Who said anything about our baby getting a PAK? Nope, if our baby's half me, then she's not going to need a PAK, therefore, as her parents, we need to think of a name."

Zim's expression faded from confused to awed. "We can name him whatever we want?" he clarified.

"Yup," Gaz confirmed with a nod. "And she'll need a good one, so help me out."

"Tex," Zim offered right away.

"Nope."

Zim frowned. "Why?"

"Because, it sounds like a name from an old, bad western movie," she critiqued. "… I like the name Luna."

Zim frowned again.

"What?"

"It's so long."

"What's so long?"

"The name. Two syllables? Please. You only need one."

Gaz frowned. "Fine, that rules out Tex and Luna. What else do you have in mind?"

Zim thought.

(Page Break)

Dib lay half-asleep on the bed in his alien motel room. The curtains were drawn, so he wasn't concerned about anyone but Tak seeing his exposed body. His glasses were somewhere, but he didn't feel like searching for them at the moment. He reached over to the other side of the bed to hold on to Tak.

His arm groped empty space.

He sat up in alarm.

"Tak?" he called to the empty room. The door to the room burst open, and Dib yanked up whatever was in reach to cover himself.

Tak strode in. "The repairs are finished," she announced.

Dib relaxed. "Geez, took 'em long enough. You said they'd be done almost a month ago."

"It's not my fault the dimwit can't tell the difference between a VXgen2065 and a BQvex78," Tak grumbled, throwing her bag down on the bed and began packing her clothes.

"More power to anyone who can," Dib said softly.

"I'll need my underwear," Tak said.

Dib looked confused and Tak pointed to her thong that Dib was holding over his private area. Dib blushed. "I, uh… I… didn't know who was coming in and I was naked and I didn't have any sheets and-"

Tak grabbed her thong before Dib could continue rambling. "Get dressed and pack your stuff. We're gettin' out of her as soon as possible."

"Right… Now if only I could find my-"

MIMI popped up and handed Dib his glasses.

"Oh, thanks. If only I could teach you to do the same thing with my pants."

(Page Break)

"Status Report!"

"Um, nothing new, sir."

"Ya sure?"

"Quite."

"Hmmm… SECURITY! Grab that guy and throw him out the air lock!"

The security guards flew in from the ceiling and snatched up the control drone from the front of the Massive and quickly disposed of him through the airlock.

"Pur," Red began. "You really should stop that. We're gonna run out of drones soon."

"You just said that five minutes ago," Purple retorted.

Red glared at his co-Tallest. "That's because you threw out a drone five minutes ago for not having any status on the whereabouts of Zim."

"So?"

"So, NOTHING'S CHANGED!"

Purple sulked. "You don't have to yell at me."

Red ignored him. He was fed up with Purple's whining, with searching, with Zim's treachery. He wished they would just find the Defective and punish him already. '_There's no way he'll go through with it_,' Red assured himself. Zim's possession of the Meekrob's transmission meant nothing except delays. Red knew that Zim didn't have the spine to turn on his people. At best, he'd try to blackmail the Tallest into giving him his status as an Invader back, which Red was prepared to do.

But once the poem was back in their possession, all bets were off.

"Status Report!" Purple called.

Red sighed.

"Incoming transmission!" one of the drones announced.

Red snapped to attention and Purple took a sip from his slushie.

Silence.

"Well? Patch 'em through!" Purple ordered.

"It could be Zim," Red muttered, mostly to himself.

What appeared on screen surprised him.

"Hey, isn't that one of the human things that Zim had to deal with? I thought we destroyed those!" Purple whined.

"Greetings, I am Tash'ook of the Gashnook people. Yes, I realize that we resemble that race you recently destroyed, and-"

"Blah, blah, blah. Get on with it," Red grumbled, annoyed that his time was being wasted, listening to someone who was so small.

"I wanted to inform you that I, along with fifty-eight other leaders of other races, have traced the disruption of our satellite signals to your race-"

"So?" Purple demanded.

"What about it?" Red asked.

"Well, because of the circumstances, we felt that the matter deserved to be investigated. So, I contacted Queen Zxhongia of the Dratherium race to attend to it."

Purple choked on his slurpie.

Red's jaw dropped. He struggled to gather his composure. "Um, Mr…. Tash, there's no need to bring Zxhongia in on this. I explained in an earlier statement that us scrambling those signals was an accident and-"

"I understand that you and the Queen are not on good terms."

"That's one way to put it," Purple pouted.

"We're on probation with her… Just 'cause she has the biggest empire in the Universe, she thinks she can boss us around," Red explained.

"Right, well. There's nothing I can do at this point. The reports have already been sent."

Red nodded solemnly. "Well, thanks for the heads up. Cut transmission."

The screen went blank.

"Trace that call; bomb him as soon as you get a lock on his location," Red ordered.

"Are we screwed, Red," Purple asked sheepishly.

'_All too well_,' Red thought, knowing already what the Queen had in store for them.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woot! I'm done. I'ma go post now. Expect the next chapter in 2-4 weeks, k? Luff!


	2. Bigger Problems

Unlikely Sacrifice

**Author's Notes**: Another addition to my story. I'm thinking that 12 reviews outdoes the starting number for UH and UR, but as far as final numbers go, UH fracking pw0ns all my other fics… but I'm not complaining. Enjoy the update.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Queen Zxhongia (zuh-hong-ee-uh) or Mari. Maharentina is kindly letting me borrow them for my fic.

"Sometimes love can be more complicated then what goes into the school's chicken sandwich."

-my sarcastic friend

Chapter 2: Bigger Problems

"Are you ready?"

"I think so."

"Good."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not."

Red glared over at his co-Tallest but held his tongue. No amount of scolding Purple would change the situation. The two of them were facing certain doom and that was that.

"Sir," called one of the drones coyly. "Incoming transmission… from Planet X."

Purple swallowed thickly.

"Put 'er through," Red commanded, but his voice jumped an octave on the last word.

On the big screen appeared a humanoid woman with pointy Elven ears and a cold glare sitting on a grand throne. Her large, red robes laced with gold only added to her intimidating appearance by making her appear twice as large as she truly was. Her hooves could barely be seen at the base of the garment.

"Red. Purple." she addressed as though they were children.

"Okay, Purple," Red said softly out of the side of his mouth, so Queen Zxhongia wouldn't hear. "Just let me handle this."

"Right," Purple replied.

"My Queen," Red began aloud. "I don't know what lies that that… small… thing has been telling you, but I've already explained that the Irken Empire had nothing to do with those transmissions being scrambled."

The Queen held up her hand to silence him. "Don't lie to me, Red. My race's memory is long. We know that Irkens have lied in the past, and that you are most definitely lying to me now."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Purple yelled, and gave Red a thumbs up.

Zxhongia was not amused. "Purple, my patience is thin. I've already set up a fleet around your planet. They are waiting for my signal to blow it up."

Red leaned down to the nearest drone and whispered, "What planet are we floating around again?"

"Noiche, sir."

Red scoffed. "Go ahead and blow up the planet. It's no skin off our antenna."

"I meant your home planet, Red."

"What? Irk?" Red whipped around to face the drones, "Why had I not been informed of this earlier!?"

"INCOMING TRANSMISSION!" cried one of the drones. "From Irk, sir. Commander Fek reports that the Dratheriums have devastated Irk's army and are now surrounding our home planet and threatening to blow it up. How would you like me to respond?"

"Wait, did you say Fek?" Purple asked. "Call him, and tell him that he owes me ten bucks."

"Enough!" cried Zxhongia.

Red turned to face the Queen. He sighed. "What are your demands?"

Zxhongia relaxed. "As much as I don't like to waste my time, we have to go through a formal procedure. I'm calling a Galactic Convention on the planet Judgementia, and I'm putting the two of you on trial-"

"On _trial_?!" exclaimed Purple.

"-for the scrambling of our planet's transmission signals."

"When are we to appear on Judgementia?"

"_Tomorrow_, and don't be late." With a nod, Zxhongia ended the transmission.

Red exhaled.

Purple put his hands behind his head. "That wasn't so bad. So, where to, Red?"

"I donno. I hear Tropica's nice this time of year."

"Yeah, that sounds nice. We should go into hiding there."

"At least until we're able to recover the Meekrob's transmission," Red said, picking up his slurpie.

"Yeah, and once we have the greatest power in the Universe, we should put _her_ on trial for being a great big, nasty bitc-"

"Oh, and boys."

Red nearly chocked on his smoothie and Purple ducked down on the floor as Planet X's Queen reappeared on screen. "To ensure that you won't try anything stupid, like… trying to run away to Tropica, I'm just going to hold your snack transporting ships hostage… Ta ta."

The screen went blank.

Red looked down at the floor and realized that he had dropped his slurpie. "… Ya think she's got a probing device planted somewhere in here, Pur?"

Purple shrugged and started floating towards the door. Red was just barely able to hear his co-Tallest mumble, "Gonna go change my robes," as he exited.

(Page Break)

Mini-Moose hovered through the empty halls of the Resisty's flagship. During the day, everyone stayed out in the main control room or food court, and the rooms were completely empty. The little robot felt that this area of the ship would be a good place to escape his mistress's wrath. He opened the door to Skoodge's room only to find it occupied.

"Squeak?"

"Huh?" Skoodge looked up from his hands at the little moose hovering in his doorway. "I just came in here to think. You?"

"Squeak."

"Yeah, I know. She seems kinda grouchy lately," Skoodge said sympathetically.

"Squeak?"

"Mmm? I donno. He's probably down with Gaz…." Skoodge muttered something inaudible under his breath.

"Squeak?"

"It's nothing…"

"Squeak?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Squeak!"

"I'm just frustrated is all!" Skoodge barely shouted. His statement didn't even come close to a yell, but it was so far from his usual pleasant demeanor that it had the same effect. "This thing with Zim…"

Mini-Moose floated over and landed upside down next to Skoodge. "Squeak?"

"I don't see how talking about it will do any good."

"Squeak."

"If you insist," Skoodge said with a sigh. "You pretty much know how things are for me and Zim. We were both judged by our height back on Earth and not by our potential. I mean, Zim and I both had _a lot_ of potential!... Mine was good and his was bad… but we still had a lot of it.

"But the Tallest refused to see what we had to offer. I thought I could impress them by being the first Invader to conquer a planet, but they wouldn't give me any credit. I think they even replaced me with someone taller on the cover on _Invader_ Magazine. Or so I heard. Next thing I know, I'm banished from the Empire, just because I'm short, fat, and ugly," the little Irken sniffed. "You know that I have a good personality, though… Don't you?"

"Squeak."

"Thanks. And now, Zim and I have this chance, this… wonderful opportunity to change everything. We can go home. We can finally get the positions we've deserved all along, and be loved and accepted. But… I don't think that Zim's gonna do it…

"I know it's horrible to ask him to kill Gaz, but… this is my life too. The two of us can do so much good, if only we had the power to make it happen. I love Gaz an' all, but if she's the only thing standing between me and all that I've ever wanted, don't you think that it's acceptable losses?"

"Squeak?"

"I don't know… It's hard to say if I would kill her. I like to think that I would, and I thought for sure that Zim would be able too, but I don't know anymore…

"All I want is a good future, little moose-guy." Skoodge wiped his eyes.

"Squeak."

"Really? You will? Thanks! He'll probably listen to you. You have a certain way with words that I seem to lack."

"Squeak," said Mini-Moose as he hovered back into the air. After giving Skoodge a loving tap on the shoulder, Mini-Moose departed.

(Page Break)

"Shloonktapooxis! Hey, where're the airlocks?" Spleenk called, still keeping his hand firmly in place over GIR's mouth.

"The _airlocks_? What are ya gonna do with the _airlocks_?" Shloonktapooxis inquired with his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth.

"Well, Gaz wanted me to get rid of this," motioned to GIR, "or _else_."

"Heh, or else _what_?"

"That's just it!" Spleenk exclaimed, and then dropped his voice down to a whisper. "She didn't say."

"Oooh, that's bad."

"Are you going to show me where the airlocks are?"

"As I'm sure you recall, Lard Nar wanted us to _stay away_ from the airlocks, so we don't have a repeat of the Manari-incident. The airlock is for trash _only_ and can only be used by the captain," Shloonktapooxis reminded. "But they're right over there," Indicated to the airlocks less than ten feet away.

"Cool, how do ya work it?" Spleenk asked, walking over to the door.

"Well, _first_ you gotta open the door."

Spleenk opened the airlock. "Check."

"Put in the trash."

Loaded GIR into the compartment. "Check."

"Now, you make sure that the door is securely sealed."

Spleenk slammed the door, pinning GIR's hand. "Check."

"Now, you press that button, right there."

Shloonktapooxis pressed the button.

"Hey, I wanted to do it!" Spleenk pouted.

"Do what?"

"Press the button."

"Why?"

"Because you made me do everything else."

"But I _always_ press the button."

"I wanted to do it!" Spleenk insisted.

"Do what?"

While they argued, GIR floated out into space, his left arm gone, singing My Humps and picking at his feet with his remaining hand.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: I know that this chapter seemed kinda short, but the next big thing that happens takes place on Christmas, so get used to the short chapters that don't advance the plot very far, because the next big event isn't happening until Christmas. Don't worry, more will be going on with Zim and Gaz. Besides, you all haven't heard from Skoodge and the Tallest for like, a whole story. They were hardly mentioned in UR, so no whining!


	3. Merry Freakin' Christmas

Unlikely Sacrifice

**Author's Notes**: Sorry about the week-late update. (That rhymes!) I was REALLY busy with finals and…. crap having to do with finals, but I'm here now and I'm going to update!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Queen Zxhongia (zuh-hong-ee-uh) or Mari. Maharentina is kindly letting me borrow them for my fic.

"Because eternity is forever."

-my cousin

Chapter 3: Merry Freakin' Christmas

"Lenore?"

"Lenore? That name sounds too feminine for our son."

"It's a girl, Zim."

"You don't know that."

"And you don't know that it's a boy!"

"… Well, Lenore is too long of a name reguardless."

Gaz sighed and threw back her head in frustration. "What _is_ it with you and names that are two syllables or longer?"

"Why do all your names have to be so long?" he countered

Gaz glared at him.

"Forget I said anything… You know, there is a high possibility that this baby is a boy."

"About fifty percent," Gaz corrected.

Zim snorted. "My _amazing_ genes produce nothing _but_ boys!"

'_Now more than ever I want this baby to be a girl,_' Gaz thought. '_If only just to deflate his ego._' "And what would the "amazing" Zim name a son if he had one?"

"Why, only the best name there is…"

'_Apparently, Irkens don't register sarcasm._' "And what would that name be?" Gaz inquired, although she knew she would probably regret it.

"_Zim_!... of course."

Gaz stared at Zim for the longest time. '_He _can't_ be serious!_'

Zim squirmed under her gaze. "What? Why do you insist on staring at me like that?"

'_He is._' "Okay, _your_ name is out. There will be no juniors, no naming after relatives, we are naming this baby something we both like… not just you."

"What's wrong with me being happy?" Zim asked.

Gaz put her face in her hands.

(Page Break)

Dib sat behind Tak in their ship. The space was a little more than cramped, but at least they had _some_ breathing room. MIMI was curled up on Dib's lap, "sleeping". Dib had to admit that it was better than MIMI staring at him for three hours straight. Still, the boy was getting restless. The anxiety of tracking down Zim's ship was making him antsy. He wanted to get up and run to burn off some of the access energy that was quickly accumulating inside him, but the tiny ship wouldn't allow that.

"How close are we?" he asked.

"Only a few light-years closer than the last time you asked," Tak replied, her annoyance with Dib growing more apparent each time he asked her how close they were. "Dib," she addressed in a business-like voice, "you're tense. Do I need to lay you to get you to relax?"

It took Dib a minute to comprehend what she was asking. "What? Have sex? Now?!"

"If it would calm you down, then yes," Tak nodded, turning the ship onto autopilot. She then kicked her chair around to face Dib, who was frozen with a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face. "Well?"

Dib could not deny himself. "Okay, but only because you suggested it."

Tak fell on him.

(Page Break)

"Hey, guys, how's it goin'?" Skoodge asked as he entered the food court and joined Zim and Gaz at their circular table.

Gaz looked away from glaring at Zim. "Hi, Skoodge; hey, you're Zim's _only_ friend. Can you do me a favor and tell Zim that he's a _pig-headed jerk_!"

"Shut your mouth, _human_; I have a perfectly normal Irken head," Zim stated, running his claws over his antennas.

"What did you call me?! Did you just call me 'human'?!" Gaz snarled, standing up.

"Skoodge, help me! I don't want to die!" Zim shrieked, jumping up from his chair to go hide behind Skoodge.

"Zim, just apologize," Skoodge instructed.

"I'm sorry! Just let me live!" Zim partially begged, knowing all too well the doom that would befall him if he didn't.

Gaz relaxed and sat back down in her chair.

"What's all this about, anyways?" Skoodge asked, Zim still hovering close behind him.

"Zim sucks at naming babies," Gaz explained.

Zim frowned, "I do not. I have given you several examples of perfectly normal Irken names."

"That's just it; all the names you've given me are _Irken_ names!"

"So? You say I'm the child's father and I'm Irken. Doesn't that mean the child will be Irken as well?"

"No, Zim, because I'm the child's mother, and I'm _human_!"

"But the child is still half me," Zim corrected, looking smug.

Gaz glared at him, but then turned to face Skoodge. "Do you see now what I have to deal with?"

"Why don't you pick a human name that sounds Irken?" Skoodge offered.

Zim snorted, "As if humans have any decent names."

"What about _my_ name?" Gaz asked.

"What about your name?"

"Do you like it?" she asked.

Zim thought, knowing that if he didn't, he could very well end up in a world of hurt. "There's nothing _wrong_ with it. It's a good length… nice structure… It's fine."

"So, we agree. There _are_ some human names that are okay by Irken standards."

Zim froze. "You know, I never thought of it that way."

Gaz smirked, "I'm just glad you're thinking."

Zim did a double take on Gaz. '_Less than a minute ago she was going to kill me, and now she's smiling at me?.. Stupid, inferior human mood-swing._'

"What about Tem?" Skoodge offered. "It's a fairly neutral name."

"Tim?" Gaz asked. "Yeah, I like that name. It reminds me of Tim Burton, he directed some of my favorite childhood movies. Zim, does Tim work?"

"Tim?... Hmmm… It does sound like Zim… I think I like it," he said with a smile.

Gaz's mood brightened significantly. "Oh, Zimmy, I'm so happy," she said, giving him a hug.

Zim froze, and Skoodge looked worried.

"Gaz? Are you feeling okay?" Skoodge asked, since Zim was too scared to breathe.

"Never better; why?"

"Well, you just called Zim 'Zimmy'."

"I'm allowed to. He's my boyfriend and the father of my child," she explained and kissed Zim on the cheek. "I can't believe we finally agreed on a name."

'_And for once,_' Zim thought, '_I think I _like_ your mood-swings._'

(Page Break)

"Proximity warning! Proximity warning!" the ship bellowed.

Tak sat up, "What the Tallest?"

There was a large, metallic clang heard just over Dib and Tak's heads. The two lovers sat up and looked around. After a minute to consider what happened, the two were relieved that they weren't dead.

"I think we hit something," Dib pointed out.

Tak pushed his face away and stood up. She yanked on her pants and before sitting down at the counsel, topless.

"What're you doing?" Dib asked., looking for his glasses.

"Finding out what we hit. It wasn't a meteoroid," Tak explained, "It was too small."

Dib felt the ship make a smooth turn.

Tak frowned, "What?"

"What is it?" Dib asked.

Tak ignored Dib for the time being. Instead, she focused on pulling in the object with her tractor-beam.

Dib, having finally found his glasses, managed to pull on his pants and join Tak in the back of their ship. Tak opened the air-lock.

GIR popped out.

"HI!" he greeted and waved cheerily.

"Send it back! Send it back!" Dib yelled, trying to pick GIR up and push him back out. GIR, however, wanted to stay, so he did a leapfrog move over Dib's head, and ran out into the control room. Tak swore and ran after the mechanical gremlin. Somehow, she managed to grab him before he destroyed their ship.

"That's Zim's robot isn't it?" Dib asked.

Tak nodded. "Even after all these years, he's done nothing to fix it… Although I can't say that I'm surprised. Zim's destroys anything he touches."

'_Like my sister,_' Dib thought, with more than a pinch of bitterness. Remembering his and Tak's mission for the first time since they had sex, Dib rushed over and demanded, "Where's Zim? What evil is he planning?"

GIR blanked out for a moment, as if trying to retrieve some deep memory. Dib and Tak waited for a full five minutes with no results.

"I think you overloaded him with all of those questions," Tak whispered.

Dib frowned. "I only asked two."

Suddenly, GIR began to speak. "_Deep in the south is where you'll find, the power for all your dreams to be, that is of course if you provide, the all important key, If power is yours desired, then a sacrifice you'll make, but the decision is yours to choose, your one true love is what it takes_."

Dib and Tak stared at GIR blankly.

"Hey!" GIR squealed. "Look what I can do!" He began to make armpit farts.

"Tak?" Dib began. "What _was_ that?"

"I don't know… It could just be something he made up."

"But what if it's something else?"

Tak thought.

"I'ma twist yo' nipples!" GIR screamed, and then jumped on a topless Tak.

(Page Break)

Lard Nar looked down below into the food court. Zim and Gaz were still sitting together, cuddling. The little blue alien sighed. "Isn't it nice, Shloonktapooxis? They're finally getting along. I'll admit that I had my doubts when they first came here, but I am starting to learn that it may actually be possible for an Irken to love."

Shloonktapooxis whipped around, "I thought Irkens already _did_ love?"

"Well, yes. Every Irken loves himself and his Empire, but this one… Zim, seems to love that girl."

"Ewww, are they kissing again?"

"Nope, they stopped for a while… Hey, do you think Zim will help us stop his old Empire?"

"I thought he already agreed to help."

"Yes, but I mean now. I want action! The Irken scum needs to pay!" Lard Nar declared, balling his hands up into fists.

Shloonktapooxis blanked out. "Hey, if you were watching them kiss, doesn't that make you a pervert?!"

Lard Nar's eyes bulged. "I am not!"

"Yeah, ya are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"AM NOT!"

"SIR!!" Spleenk cried.

"What?!" Lard Nar barked.

"Something's coming right for us! It's really big, and it's coming really fast, and it's gonnahurt, and Idon'tlikeit, and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Gaz looked up at the sound of Spleenk's screaming. "Zim? What's going on?"

Zim looked around. "I'm not sure."

Suddenly, the Resisty's ship jerked to a dead stop, knocking Zim and Gaz out of their chair and Lard Nar over the railing.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Shloonktapooxis cried.

Zim, who had managed to twist on the last moment so Gaz would land on him rather than the floor, sat up and looked out the window. He caught a faint glimpse of red and white, before it moved away. Crashes were heard all around the ship as something big grabbed hold. A large, white object blocked out the view of the food court's windows.

Gaz turned around and saw. "Zim?" she asked, her voice the smallest he'd ever heard.

"Ssshhhh… just stay calm and quiet… it can't see you if you don't move."

A dark slit appeared in the wall of white, and rapidly opened into a full mouth of razor sharp teeth.

Gaz recognized the beast. "Oh, my god, that's…" She whipped around and slapped Zim across the face. "That's your Santa Monster that you launched into space!"

Zim gave a coy, nervous smile. "Uh… Merry Christmas?"

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woot. It's done. I'm amazing. Merry Christmas, Abby. Feliz Navidad, Invader Johnny. And happy holidays to everyone else.


	4. We're Doomed

Unlikely Sacrifice

**Author's Notes**: Hey, I'm once again sorry about the late post. School has once again managed to consume my life, but once I graduate, things will go a lost smoother. And for those of you thinking, "Gee, Aqua, is this fic REALLY going to take until MAY to finish?" I say, uh… NO! I have roughly five other fic ideas listed on my profile (for those of you who have never bothered to check my profile, now would be a good time to start) Oh, and much love to Invader Johnny! 3 (For those of you who don't understand why I included that, I laugh at you.)

**Disclaimer**: I STILL do not own Queen Zxhongia (zuh-hong-ee-uh) or Mari. Maharentina is kindly letting me borrow them for my fic.

"WHOO! It's time to start eatin' babies."

-me

Chapter 4: We're Doomed

Red and Purple watched with rising fear as Judgementia grew closer and closer. Both knew that escape was rapidly fading in light of the planet's increasing proximity.

"So, Red… We're screwed, right?" Purple finally piped up as the ship came to a rest.

Red scowled at his co-lord. "Well, I can see how much faith you have in me," he snorted and started for the doors.

"You mean we have a plan?"

Red smirked, "Of course we have a-"

Red stopped as the metallic doors slid open revealing their Dratherium escort. Red's mood didn't improve. "What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded of the half-elven, half horse creatures.

"Just following orders," the soldier curtly replied.

"Zxhongia's?" Purple inquired as he exited the Massive.

The soldier gave a brisk nod. "She sent us in the event that the two of you would try to flee."

"Ha! How little faith the queen has in us," Red snarled and started walking towards the judgment hall.

Purple floated faster to catch up with him. "Please tell me that fleeing once we arrived on the planet wasn't you plan," he whispered.

"It was," Red replied, in the same manner. "But don't worry, I have others."

"How many others?"

Red was silent. Purple continued to follow him at close range, expecting and answer. Red hovered faster. Purple matched his pace. Realizing that his partner was not about to let it go, Red groaned and said, "I have maybe…. Two."

"Two?"

"Two."

The two Irkens looked up and found themselves in the Judgementia courtroom. Leaders representing every race we present, awaiting the results of the trail. A few Plookteshkans, a species known for their good judgment, sat in the jury box. Queen Zxhongia sat as the judge.

"Let it be known that Tallest Red and Tallest Purple did arrive without force. Thank you, for not wasting our time. You will find your seats behind you. Oh, and _do_ turn off those hover belts, the two of you are surrounded by your peers."

"But we haven't walked in years," Purple said.

"That's what the chairs are for," Zxhongia replied, with a brisk nod. "And once the two of you are seated, court will begin."

"Hey, Red, are we screwed yet?" Purple asked out of the corner of his mouth as the two of them deactivated their hover belts.

Red growled and took a seat. He looked around and found that he and Purple were sitting alone on the court floor. "Where is our lawyer?" he asked, checking around frantically.

Zxhongia looked down at them. "Let it also be known that the Irken leaders will be representing themselves in court."

All leaders took note and then returned their gaze to Red and Purple.

"Okay," Red spoke out of the side of his mouth. "_Now_ we're screwed."

(Page Break)

Zim strapped himself into the cockpit of Skoodge's ship and prepared for takeoff. Other Resisty members were piling into their respected ships, ready for combat as well. Zim chose Skoodge's ship over anything that the Resisty had to offer, because he was familiar with the technology and because he was positive that anything less wouldn't be powerful enough to damage the Santa Monster.

Anything less being anything the Resisty had to offer.

Zim switched on the communication link to Lard Nar.

"Is this thing on," Lard Nar growled as he faded into focus. "Stupid piece of junk. We're all going to die today, and it's all because of our outdated technology."

'_That's an accurate assessment,_' Zim thought, before saying, "I'm ready to launch."

"Oh, Zim! There you are. I see you now. Can you adjust the lights? You blend right in with the upholstery."

Zim glared. "Just look for my ship and not my skin."

"Right, and don't worry. We'll cover you. We have the finest weaponry in the Universe, and highly trained pilots to assist you in battle."

"I'M AN ASTRONAUT!" Spleenk cried happily on a screen adjacent to Zim's. In the docking bay, Zim heard one of the Resisty's ships backfire.

Lard Nar cleared his throat anxiously while Zim gave him a skeptic look. The ship suddenly jarred sideways as the Santa Monster rammed it.

"I have to go _now_!" Zim shouted and started up the ship.

"Right then. Good luck," Lard Nar said with a salute.

"Hold on! Don't cut the transmission!"

Zim recognized Gaz's voice as soon as he heard it. It made him smile.

The human girl's face appeared on screen. "Zim!" she called out urgently. "Zim, are you still there!?"

'_She really cares about me. Tallest be praised! I finally fixed things between us,_' Zim thought as he replied, "Don't worry, Gaz. I'm still here."

"Zim, there's something I need to-"

"Don't worry about me, Gaz. I created this robot, and I am perfectly suited to destroy-"

"I don't like the name Tim."

Zim frowned. "What?"

"I don't like the name Tim," Gaz repeated.

"I'm about to go into battle for our _lives_, and you _only_ wanted to talk to me because you changed your mind about the baby's name?!" Zim growled.

"Hey, don't you even think about giving me a tone, Zim. Just remember the one who's carrying the baby around!"

"Here she goes," Zim mumbled.

"You should consider yourself lucky that you don't have to put up with the headaches, swollen ankles – I haven't even _seen_ my ankles in a over a month – sudden cravings, swelling up to the size of the _house_, having the child _you_ put in me crash down on top of my bladder every ten minutes," Gaz ranted. "And since you don't have to put up with all of this crap, I think I've earned the right to change my mind once in a while."

"Gaz, I'm our in space right now, and I have the Santa Monster in sight. Can we please talk about this later?" Zim requested as he closed in on the holiday beast.

"No."

"What?"

"_No_!"

"_Why_?!"

"Because you might be _dead_ later. I want your input _now_!" Gaz demanded.

"Thank you, my darling mate, for your vote of confidence in my amazing piloting skills," Zim grumbled sarcastically.

"Tim is just too… masculine. I can't have people making fun of our daughter because she has a boy-ish name. Plus, I really like the name Joanna. It's strong, but feminine at the same time. What do you think?" Gaz asked.

"Okay, Gold team, you take the monster from the left, while Theta and I swoop in from behind and flank it. Maybe then we can-"

"ZIM! Are you listening to me?!" Gaz snarled.

"In case you've forgotten, _Gaz_, I'm in the middle of a space battle."

"Well, gee, _Zim_. Last time I checked, our child took priority over anything else!"

"Our child _does_ take priority!" Zim shouted. "That's why I'm out here, fighting this thing to ensure that our child lives long enough to take it's first breath!"

"Weeee! I can make it do loops!"

"GOLD TEAM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?!" Zim snarled. He heard a soft noise and looked down at the screen in his ship. "Gaz? Are you crying?"

Gaz sniffed and wiped her eyes. "No, I-I… I'm fine, Zim. Please don't let me distract you any more. Just… Be careful."

"Gaz… I didn't mean to make you cry… Everything's going to be fine… Uh… sure the name Joanna is fine. I like it."

Gaz looked up. "Really?"

Zim smiled. "Really. Now, do you feel better?"

"No."

"No?!"

"I don't like the name Joanna. It's too old-fashioned. You know what would really be cute? Raven. I love that name."

"SPLEENK! GET OUTTA THERE! YOU'RE GOING TO GET KILLED!"

"If, on the rare off-chance that our baby is a boy, we can shorten the name to Ray… Or even Revin. That sounds nice."

"OH, TALLEST! IT'S GOT ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"What do you think, Zim?"

"GAAHH! I WANNA LIVE!"

"Do you like the name, Zim?"

"SWEET JUMPIN' JELLY BEANS! I'M FREE!"

"_Zim_?"

"Yes, Gaz?"

"_Do you like the name_?"

"What name?"

"HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"I'M A SPACE MAN!"

"SPLEENK!"

(Page Break)

"And then tell the court what happened after that," Zxhongia said.

The fluffy little creature on the witness stand continued. "Well, not long after we realized that all of our communication lines were down, we discovered an Irken satellite in close proximity with our planet."

"Now, can you please tell the court on what day this took place?"

"At 42:67 on Plexnak 6. A Wednesday."

The court gasped and glared at Red and Purple.

Zxhongia spoke. "Let the records show that the Tajshlings lost their communication lines at the same time as the Plookeshions, the Solarans, the Raptorans, the Reknaes, the Shoobadoos, and the Nookies. Also, let the records show that the date corresponds with the Meekrob Solace, at date that only comes once every millennium and is rumored to hold great significance in their society."

"This is bad, Red," Purple whispered.

Red nodded. "This has been going south ever since Zim abandoned us. If it weren't for that Defective, we'd be halfway to Meekrob now and this mess would be behind us."

"I now call the Grand Jaba of Noomber Thrty Nien to the witness stand."

"You insult my eggplant!" The frizzy haired creature wearing a toga accused, as it ascended to the witness stand.

"I would never. Now, Ms. Grand Jaba, can you tell the court what date your transmissions failed?"

"Pizza Day."

"And what day is that?"

"Pizza Day."

"What day is Pizza Day?"

"_Every_ day is _Pizza Day_," the Grand Jaba scolded as she whipped out a taco.

"Now's my chance," Red whispered and pulled out his long-range communicator. "Yes, drone, get me Invader Johnny."

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woot, what a cliff hanger. I hope you enjoyed. I feel hyper today. Much love to Abby and Invader Johnny, just because. REVIEW! Or the next chapter will be delayed.


	5. Invader Johnny

Unlikely Sacrifice

**Author's Notes**: Okay, for those of you who care to read my notes, let me begin by apologizing for my lack of updating. My life is a tad bit hard to manage at the moment, what with it being my senior year and being in the top of my class and MOVING on top of all of that… AND writing a research paper. I challenge YOU to do all of that and try to breathe! Anyways, the fic WILL be finished, I promised all of you that, and MAYBE when I graduate, I'll get back into steady updates. THANKS to all of you who have stuck with me; if it we're for ya'all… I woulda screwed this WHOLE trilogy. :)!

**Disclaimer**: The Grand Jaba is the sole property of Abby Elventhing. Praise her for the AMAZINGNESS! I STILL do not own Queen Zxhongia (zuh-hong-ee-uh) or Mari. Maharentina is kindly letting me borrow them for my fic.

"Gross chicken plus nasty bread plus fork equals a nasty sandwich that you don't have to touch."

-my philosophical friend

Chapter 5: Invader Johnny

"Alright, Blue Team, Theta has moved into place. BEGIN THE ATTACK!" Zim commanded, as the Santa Monster grew larger in his targeting range.

"I wanted to be part of Gold Team." One of the aliens complained, but Zim ignored it. He was concentrating on the upcoming attack on the Santa Monster. Gold Team had managed to follow his instructions and was moving into their position as well. Zim was pleased. With everyone following his instructions, his flanking plan might actually work.

His goal was to have the Monster concentrate on Blue Team, while Theta and Gold came in and attacked the right and left sides of the beast. And if that didn't work, Omega Team was coming in from behind… with bombs.

He watched at Blue Team shot a battery of lasers at the Santa Monster, causing it to rear back and lose its grip on the Resisty's flag ship. It wound up for a swipe and Blue Team drew closer, so Zim commanded them to use evasive maneuvers.

"Theta, Gold Team! It's been weakened! ATTACK!"

"WWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Zim watched with horror as one of the ships from Gold Team (No doubt Spleenk) had shot ahead of the group and was now approaching the monster at breakneck speed.

"SPLEENK! Is that you? TURN AROUND!" Zim called, but it was too late. Spleenk had smashed his ship into the monster's head. He had not killed it, nor badly injured it, he had only managed to piss it off. Spleenk's ship was snatched up and then hurled at the approaching Gold Team. The ships scattered to avoid being hit.

Zim swore. "Okay… I can handle this… Theta! Follow through with the attack!"

Zim pounded the monster with every weapon that he could think of, and finally, he along with the rest of Theta, dislodged the monster from the ship. However, now it was aware of their presence.

The beast kicked off of the flagship and headed straight for Theta Team, mouth agape.

Zim's eyes bulged. "EVASIVE MANUEVERS!" he shouted and managed to pull up just in time. He snickered as the monster passed harmlessly under his ship.

"Sir! SIR! IT'S GOT ME!"

Zim stopped chuckling and turned around.

Indeed, the Santa Monster had managed to snatch up one of the Resisty's ships with its tongue. Zim whipped his ship around and took off in pursuit of the fiend. He caught up in seconds, but was careful to dodge all of the candy cane spider legs. Once the mouth was in sight, he fired his laser and severed the monster's tongue, freeing the soldier.

"Sir, Omega is in range."

"Well, hold your fire until I'm out of range!" Zim snapped, and charged off. The Santa Monster took pursuit.

"Sir?"

Zim ignored the transmission and looked behind him into the Santa's gaping maw.

"Sir?"

"FIRE! FIRE! Kill this thing already!" Zim yelled and steered sharply to the right.

He felt the blasts behind him, but he didn't care to look. Instead, he watched his radar. The Santa Monster had fled the scene, no doubt badly wounded. Zim could hear the others cheering over the transmitter.

"Sir! You did it!"

"We won!"

"It's gone!"

"Congratulations!"

"We did it!"

"You saved us all! You're a hero!"

"Thanks!" Spleenk yelled.

Zim sat in his ship. A bit overwhelmed by what had just taken place. Not so much about the fight, but about all the praise he was receiving. He couldn't remember the last time he had been praised. '_It's nice_,' he thought.

(Page Break)

"And that's when I decided!" the Grand Jaba declared.

"That all of your transmissions had failed?" Queen Zxhongia inquired.

The Grand Jaba frowned. "NO! That's when I decided that I didn't want children; I wanted Pizza! And then everyday has been Pizza Day!"

"Your royal Queenly-queen-ness, may I ask the witness some questions?" Purple asked.

Zxhongia, in the midst of a horrible headache, allowed Purple to proceed.

"Alright, Grand Jaba, if that _IS_ your real name!"

Red smacked his head on the desk… multiple times.

"Foolish potato, you _dare_ insult the Grand Jaba's taco?!" the Grand Jaba held the taco high, threatening to smash it in Purple's face.

Purple turned to face Zxhongia.

"Your Highman, the witness is talking in third person. Therefore, I humbly request that you disregard anything that she has or will say."

"The potato knows NOTHING!" the Grand Jaba shrieked at Queen Zxhongia.

The Queen gave an exasperated sigh. "Grand Jaba, if you would kindly lower your voice-"

"The Grand Jaba does _not_ talk in THIRD person. The Grand Jaba talks to the Grand Jaba's self in FIFTH person!"

"I rest my case," Purple said with crossed arms.

Red's antenna twitched. He could hear an engine, and it was getting closer. He snapped his head up and looked over at Purple as he was pummeled by the Grand Jaba. "Purple!" he called "It's time!"

Zxhongia looked alarmed, but for her it was too late. A ship came crashing through the courtroom's ceiling, bearing the Tallest insignia. The hatch opened and a lone Irken stepped out. The Irken drew his blaster and shot the Grand Jaba off of Purple effortlessly.

"Hurry!" the Irken called, and started shooting down the Dratherium guards, one by one.

Red jumped out of his chair and hurried over to the ship. Purple had managed to crawl half of the distance, but he was now trying to use his legs. The two Tallests made it to the ship and waited for their savior to join them. The Irken was in the ship before they knew it, and had already ordered the hatches closed. The ship gave a lurch as it dislodged itself from the building and then returned to outer space.

The two Tallest lay in a tangled heap on the floor.

"It's not your place to order the hatches closed!" Purple scolded, causing the Irken's eyes to narrow. Purple glared as well. "And why aren't you wearing the standard Invader issue uniform?"

The Invader pulled back his trench coat. "I am," he stated simply, but with a hint of contempt.

Red pulled himself to his feet. "Invader Johnny, thank you for coming to our aid," he said, brushing off his suit.

"Always a pleasure to aid my Tallests," Johnny said, turning away from his leaders to hide his mocking smile.

"Very good, where are we headed?"

"To Irk, where you will make a public announcement, stating that you had nothing to do with the transmission failures."

"What about us breaking out of the courtroom?" Purple asked.

"I'll say that I got wind of an assassination attempt and had to remove you from the situation immediately."

"Yeah, but they're still not going to believe us," Purple grumbled.

"That's why I fabricated false evidence to state that we had nothing to do with the transmission failures."

Red smiled, "Very good, Invader Johnny. Glad to see that you're on top of things." Red reactivated his hover belt and floated past Johnny. Purple joined him.

"I don't like him, Red," Purple mumbled softly. "He thinks WAY too much on his own. It's like he had a plan for everything. It's not normal! He has to be a Defective!"

"Defective or not he follows his orders and he hasn't caused any damage. So what if he doesn't wear the standard Invader gloves or boots? At least he does his job," Red mumbled and floated ahead.

Purple sighed and turned to look at Johnny. The Invader had remained by the hatch and was busy cleaning his blaster. He looked up at Purple with his deep, blood red eyes and gave his Tallest a crooked smile accompanied by a mock salute.

Purple growled and stormed off.

(End Chaper)

**Author's Notes**: YAY! New character! The plot thickens. Sorry the chapter wasn't very long, but I think I got a lot done. I hope you all liked it. Have a great two weeks!


	6. A New Leader Emerges

Unlikely Sacrifice

Unlikely Sacrifice

**Author's Notes**: TA-DA! (Bows) Yes, the amazing Invader Aqua has returned from the abyss she seems to have fallen into around 4 months ago… or longer. Please forgive me for the lack of updating, but between graduation and moving cross-country, I've found it very hard to manage my fic and my personal life at the same time… on a higher note, I graduated with a 4.0 GPA! On a lower note, I've completely lost my notes for this fic… BUT WHEN HAVE I LET THAT STOP ME BEFORE?! Miss ya'll and thanks for sticking with me.

**Disclaimer**: The Grand Jaba is the sole property of Abby Elventhing. Praise her for the AMAZINGNESS! I STILL do not own Queen Zxhongia (zuh-hong-ee-uh) or Mari. Maharentina is kindly letting me borrow them for my fic.

"Gross chicken plus nasty bread plus fork equals a nasty sandwich that you don't have to touch."

-my philosophical friend

Chapter 6: A New Leader Emerges

Zim landed his ship in the Resisty's docking bay, more pleased with himself than he had been in a long time. The other ships followed, and it wasn't long before the bay was overcrowded. Praise for rebel Irken echoed off of the walls.

Zim smiled. "Glad to see my amazingness hasn't gone unnoticed."

"Just as cocky as ever," a voice scoffed.

Zim turned to see Gaz making her way over to him, a broad smile across her face. She wrapped her arms around the former Invader and leaned into a rather passionate kiss, with Zim gratefully returned.

He smirked as their lips parted. "Hmm, and all this time I thought you were mad at me."

"Just so you know, if you _ever_ scare me like that again, I'll rip that smirk right off of your face and make it so you'll never smile again," she explained coolly.

Zim smiled. "Where would I be without your dark threats?"

"ZIM!" Lard Nar called. "I wish to have a word with you."

Zim sighed and gave Gaz a longing look. '_Why are we always torn apart right as things are starting to improve?_' "Is this a private matter?"

"By no means," Lard Nar dismissed with a wave of his hand.

Zim looked surprised. "Then what is it you need?"

The little alien cleared his throat. "Well, after consulting with the rest of the Resisty, we feel that it is in the best interest of our organization to have someone with your tactical brilliance and leadership qualities as assistant in command."

"Yes," Zim replied. "You do."

"So?"

"…"

"… Soooooooooooooo?"

"… So what?"

Gaz rolled her eyes. "You idiot, they want you to be the assistant leader."

Zim snorted. "I have far to much brilliance to be assistant-"

Gaz popped Zim in the head and clasped her hand over his mouth. "What my idiot mate is trying to say is that he is deeply honored by your consideration, and he will _gladly_ take this position." She turned to look Zim in the eyes. "_WON'T_ you?"

Zim nodded vigorously.

Gaz smiled and released his mouth.

Lard Nar nodded. "Congratulations to you, Zim. Now, your first order of business is to-"

"Will you leave?" Gaz groaned. "It seems like every time things start to get fixed between Zim and I, you or someone who works for you interrupts us! Can't you just leave us alone for once? Or at least let us have our moment together."

Lard Nar vanished before Gaz could pop him in the head.

Zim smirked, but hid it when Gaz returned her eyes to him.

She sighed. "Have you noticed how often they interrupt us?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well," she huffed, "I'm tired of it! I just want to be with you… right now… I just want you to hold me." She kissed him on the lips. "Even though you're a narcissistic alien, you're MY narcissistic alien, and I love you."

"You love me?" Zim asked, his voice small from the shock of the news.

"I love you," Gaz confirmed, and kissed the alien again.

"After everything I've done to you?"

Gaz grabbed Zim's hand and rested it on her belly. "I forgive you."

"Even for Earth, your brother, kidnapping you, ruining your life-"

"Stop talking. I said I forgave you, and I love you. Just go with it!"

Zim pulled Gaz up against him and kissed her deeply. "I love you too, Gaz."

The girl smiled, and rested her head on Zim's shoulder.

"… Uh, Gaz?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Can we take this to my room?" Zim asked timidly.

Gaz glared at him. "I never said I was giving you sex!"

"No, no. I meant, the Resisty is watching us make out."

Gaz looked over at the rest of the Resisty crew as they gaped at the Slorgakian couple. "IDIOTS! DON'T YOU ALL HAVE LIVES?!"

Zim adjusted his grip so Gaz would be facing him and said, "You know, I think I like the name Rev."

Gaz calmed down immediately. "You do?"

"Yes."

Gaz beamed up at him. She planted another kiss directly on the Irken's open mouth. "Okay, let's go to your room."

"Now?"

"Yes! Hurry up before I change my mind!"

"… Can we have…" Zim gestured awkwardly.

"Not if you don't hurry up," Gaz warned as she left the docking bay.

Zim pumped his fist up in the air before turning to run after her.

(End Chapter)

Author's Notes: Yes this is the shortest chapter in the history of ffn, but the point of it was more to prove to everyone that Invader Aqua still lives, and is planning to update her fic again. BE HAPPY! The next chappy will be longer and more detailed, but this was just a little Zim and Gaz fluf that I felt the story was lacking.


End file.
